


RintoriWeek

by ByTheBi



Category: Free!
Genre: Bad Poetry, Fluff, M/M, OC mentions, Poetry, Romance, Violence, but only in chapter 5, one shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-07
Packaged: 2018-02-11 07:34:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2059452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ByTheBi/pseuds/ByTheBi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seven days, seven themes. A collection of oneshots for rintoriweek on tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Locker Room

It had started out innocently enough at first.

“Ah, Rin-senpai, could I leave my stuff in your locker for today? I’m really sorry, but my lock is jammed and it won’t be fixed until tomorrow,” Aiichirou entreated, bowing and looking very apologetic. Rin sighed. He took the towel and water bottle from the boy’s hands.

“Alright, but just this once. I don’t want you making a habit of it and making my locker a mess,” Rin warned him, making a small space in his locker for Ai’s things. Ai smiled in relief and promised. 

A week later, Aiichirou was lucky enough to repay the favor.

Rin was already back in the dorms when he realized that he had left his bag with his iPod and running clothes out on the bench in the locker room. He swore to himself and pulled out his phone, knowing that Ai had stayed behind at the pool to get some extra practice done.

‘Left my bag in the locker room. Can you put my stuff in your locker for now?’ he typed out and sent the message. About ten minutes later, his phone buzzed, and Ai’s ‘Ok, no problem! :)’ flashed across the screen.

One month later and it had become a bad habit for both of them. 

They had even exchanged lock combinations. Out of necessity and convenience, as they both assured themselves. Ai could always grab a spare water bottle or towel from Rin’s locker whenever he forgot his own, and Rin kept a change of clothes in Ai’s locker just in case of emergencies. It became routine even, for each boy to swipe something from the other’s locker before returning to his own. Both found themselves to be comfortable with this. 

That was, of course, until Momotarou pointed it out. 

“Ehh? Nitori-senpai, where are you going? I thought your locker was 202?” the first-year proclaimed, trailing after Ai, who stopped in front of locker 104. He spun the combination with practiced fingers and opened the locker. Momo peered curiously over his shoulder, trying to figure out whose locker it was by the items inside. 

Ai, who had left his jacket in the dorm, took Rin’s hoodie out from the locker and put it on, having already gotten permission from the redhead. It was large on him, but warm. He took a deep breath, ignoring Momo to get a whiff of Rin’s reassuring scent on the sweater. He closed the locker with a satisfied click.

“Don’t tell me… Is this the Captain’s locker?” Momotarou insisted, poking Ai repeatedly on the shoulder. The second year sighed. 

“Yes, it is, Momo-kun.”

“And you were able to open it?”

“Yes, I am.”

“He gave you the combination?”

“Clearly.”

“I see… Are you two dating?”

“Ye- Wait, what?!” Ai spun around to stare at Momo. His cheeks reddened. “W-What are you talking about? I don’t- we aren’t…” He trailed off into an incoherent jumble of words. Momo simply blinked in surprise. 

“Well if you share lockers and you wear his clothes and you’re together all the time… I would have thought that meant you guys were together. Huh, guess I was wrong,” he said, looking bummed by this revelation. Ai, on the other hand, was mortified. Before he could further defend himself though, Momo merely patted him on the back and announced that he was off to meet up with some friends and pick up chicks. He ran off, laughing and leaving a blushing Ai behind. 

Within minutes, most of the other swimmers trickled out of the locker room. Ai decided to linger and wait for Rin, who was inside the storage room putting equipment away. He fiddled anxiously with the strap of his bag, repeating the conversation he just had with his kouhai over and over in his mind. He was so preoccupied that he didn’t notice Rin enter the locker room.

“Oh, you’re still here?” the redhead asked in surprise. He glanced at Ai, and noticed that the boy had indeed taken the sweater, but made no comment about it.

Aiichirou laughed nervously, trying to dispel some of his jittery feelings. Why was he so jittery anyway? “Just felt like waiting up for you. Can you believe what Momo-kun just said to me, Rin-senpai? He thought you and I were d-dating,” he said, tripping up slightly on the last word. He tried to cover it up with another laugh, but it came out sounding harsh and awkward. 

Rin nonchalantly opened his locker. “Well what’s wrong with that?”

Aiichirou froze. “W-Wrong? Well, uh, nothing, I suppose, but what I meant is that it’s silly, right? Because we aren’t,” he rambled, feeling his face heat up. He ducked his chin into the collar of Rin’s hoodie.

Rin didn’t pause as he grabbed his jacket and bag. “Well, why did he think we were dating anyway?” he asked. 

“Uhm, well… He said that since we spend so much time together and share lockers… And that I borrow your clothes sometimes, he thought it meant that we were a couple.”

Rin’s locker was slammed shut, and he made his way over to the bench where Ai sat. He stood hovering over the younger male. “Hm, I see. Well, you do look cute in my clothes. I can see why he might think you were my boyfriend.”

“C-Cute?” Ai squeaked. He swallowed when Rin smirked at him. The swim captain plopped himself down on the bench beside him and wrapped an arm around him. Ai was painfully aware of his own heartbeat, which seemed so loud and erratic that he was certain there was no way Rin couldn’t hear it. The two remained this way for several minutes, neither moving nor speaking. A million thoughts raced through Ai’s head. He was dying to ask Rin what they were doing, but a part of him was terrified of ruining this moment. 

“Hey, Ai,” Rin said, finally breaking the silence. 

Ai’s head whipped to the side to look at Rin, who stared straight ahead. Only a touch of pink on his cheeks belied his calm composure. “Y-Yes, Rin-senpai?” 

“Next time someone asks if we’re dating, tell them yes.”


	2. Late Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A poem about what late nights mean to Aiichirou

Late nights meant the moon, shining bright and true  
shimmering over the water of a pool clear and blue.  
a stopwatch and water bottle kept near by,  
as well as a towel to keep the swimmer dry.

Late nights meant swimming after everyone had gone,  
pushing himself until he thought he couldn’t go on.  
In a few hours, into bed he would fall,  
but for now, he pushed on to stand strong and tall.

Late nights also meant stacks of papers and books,  
grumbling to himself over his work, only to receive strange looks.  
It meant texting to ask for just a couple of tips,  
chewing nervously on a pencil tucked between his lips.

Late nights meant seeing that smile, the one he saw during the day,  
but now up close and personal- he would have it no other way.  
The smile brought with it laughter, love, and support,  
from the lover he had met through this wet sport.

But most importantly, late nights meant living out his dream  
of gazing into the eyes of the captain of the team,   
and in the emptiness of the night, hearing those words ring true,  
those simple, beautiful words: I love you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh could you tell I got lazy with this one? I'm sorry. Hope you all enjoy a bit of rintori poetry though


	3. First Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Momo asks his senpai what his first kiss was like. Ai, in turn, goes to Rin with the same question.

“Nitori-senpai, I have a very important question that I need you to answer!”

Aiichirou glanced up from his book to look at Momo curiously. To the first year, everything was important apparently, as he had come to learn. “What is it, Momo-kun?”

Momo leaned forward, a serious expression on his face. Aiichirou leaned back in turn. “Nitori-senpai… What was your first kiss like?!” he declared, latching onto Ai’s hands to keep him in place.

The second year’s face glowed bright pink and his eyes widened, taking on a frazzled look. “E-Excuse me?! Momo-kun, I don’t think that’s any of your business. Why do you even want to know?” he huffed, snatching his hands back and looking away in undisguised irritation. Momo didn’t seem to care.

“Well, I know this may be very hard to believe, given how much of a ladies’ man I am, but I’ve never kissed anyone before. There’s this girl I really like and I want to impress her, so I was hoping you’d have some good stories and tips for me so I can really wow her!” he explained, eyes lighting up with fiery determination.

“On the contrary, I don’t doubt that you’ve never been kissed at all,” Ai deadpanned, 

“Nitori-senpai, don’t be mean! Just help me out here!”

He sighed. Honestly, he was in no better situation than his kouhai. Aiichirou had never been kissed either. It wasn’t as though he never liked anyone because he did, hell he even had a crush now. It made him wonder… Did Rin have any kissing experience? Ai mulled it over. Rin was definitely too focused on swimming and training to really do the whole romance thing, and yet, he was far too cool - at least in Ai’s opinion - to have gone so long without kissing someone. 

“Senpai?”

Ai abruptly stood, laughing awkwardly. “Well, would you look at the time? I promised Rin-senpai I would meet him for a run, and I’ll be late if I don’t leave now,” he said. Without waiting to hear Momo’s reply, he hurried out the door, forgetting to grab his jacket along the way. 

When he got to their usual meeting place, he found Rin stretching on the grass. “You’re late.”

Aiichirou panted, trying to catch his breath. “I know, sorry. Momo-kun was asking me some ridiculous questions and I lost track of time.”

The redhead snorted. “Well, that’s nothing new,” he remarked dryly, switching position to stretch his other leg. 

Ai mimicked his senpai, stretching out his hamstrings. “Yeah, but this one was different. He was asking me about my first kiss,” he mumbled, wondering what Rin would think. To his dismay, Rin only grunted in reply and continued stretching. Ai licked his lips and tried again. “Well, what was your first kiss like, Rin-senpai?”

Rin paused. “I’ve actually never kissed anyone before,” he said, stretching his arms up over his head after a moment. If he noticed the way his companion’s eyes widened in surprise, he ignored it.

“Really?”

Rin shrugged. “Yeah. I’ve always been focused on my swimming, so I never really had time for that sort of stuff,” he explained as though it was no big deal. 

Ai nodded. His guess had been spot on. “But it’s still strange. You’re so perfect,” he mused, forgetting that Rin could hear him. His senpai reddened at the comment and, upon realizing what he had just said, so did Ai. 

“I-I mean, well, you know…”

“Have you had a first kiss then?” Rin asked sharply, cutting him off. Aiichirou blinked twice, then slowly shook his head. He wanted to explain himself, especially as Rin was giving him a strange look. Now he had stopped stretching and was coming closer and-

Rin grabbed the back of his head and brought Ai in close enough so that their lips brushed. Ai gasped softly, sucking in warm air just before Rin pressed his mouth more firmly against his own. Then right when Ai thought he would faint from the warmth, the contact, the proximity of Rin, the kiss was over. The redhead leaned back and had a hard time meeting Aiichirou’s eyes. 

Still, his voice was calm as he said, “Now you can say that you have.”


	4. Shark Bites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For someone afraid of sharks, Ai sported an awful lot of shark bites on his neck.

Ai’s fear of sharks seemed to be a constant source of amusement for the boys on the Samezuka swim team. The Jaws music seemed to always be playing in the locker room just to see him get all tense and jumpy. Shark Night 3D was the first movie suggested on their last movie night, and Ai had screamed when he discovered that not only the great white was terrifying. They frequently offered to drag him to the aquarium on the other side of town, where a new shark exhibit opened up. He refused every time, but that didn’t stop them from offering. 

But by far, one of their favorite things to tease Ai about when they could, was the fact that his boyfriend had razor sharp teeth. They would never say it to Rin’s face; they knew better than to piss off the captain. But whenever a mischievous teammate could catch Ai alone, he would always ask what it felt like to have a shark bite into you. Ai shuddered, not because he thought Rin was a shark, but rather at the image the sentence conjured up. 

“Shut up, Souda-san,” he grumbled, slamming his locker shut. Souda laughed loudly, leaning against the row of lockers. He patted Ai’s back. 

“Ah come on, Nitori! I’m just joking, you know that. But I do want to know where those shark bites on your neck came from,” he remarked. Souda put on a confused face, as though he didn’t already know who caused the marks. He gasped, bringing a hand up to his mouth in mock surprise. “Don’t tell me! You went to the beach and were attacked by a shark?! Oh no! Nitori, why didn’t you say so? You must have been terrified, having such sharp, dangerous teeth so close to-”

“Actually, Souda,” a voice came from behind them. Ai whirled around, relieved to see Rin standing there. The captain walked over, slinging an arm around his boyfriend and gazing coolly at Souda. “These aren’t shark bites on his neck. They’re love bites.”

Ai felt his face heat up in mortification and he could only stare at Rin in horror, mouth agape. He knew they were open about their relationship with the team, but this… this was too much!

Rin chuckled at their expressions and took a deliberate step closer to Souda, grinning maliciously. “But if you want to know what a real shark attack looks like, I’ll gladly be the one to show you.”

Souda paled and shook his head quickly, scurrying away. Ai sighed in relief, watching him go. He then turned on his boyfriend and promptly whacked him on the arm. 

“Rin-senpai! How could you tell him that?!” he exclaimed, skin flushed pink all the way down to his neck. Rin laughed and tried to block the hit, unashamed. 

“Hey, it’s not like it wasn’t already obvious, Ai,” he reminded him. “I just reinforced it.”

Ai groaned. “Well, no more love bites. Or shark bites. Or whatever the heck you are,” he complained. 

Rin snorted. “Oh please, you weren’t exactly complaining when I first gave them to you. And you know damn well who I am.”

He hummed. “I know. You’re Matsuoka Rin, Captain of the Samezuka Swim Team. I’m also fairly certain you were a shark in a past life.”

“And also boyfriend to Nitori Aiichirou. You can’t leave that part out,” Rin pointed out in amusement.

“Ah, right. Part shark-boyfriend to a boy who’s afraid of sharks. What a combination,” Ai laughed, wrapping his arms around Rin’s waist in a hug. Rin grinned.

“Well, it could be worse. At least you aren’t afraid of me,” he said, kissing the top of the younger boy’s head. Ai snickered. 

“What is there to be afraid of? You’re way too soft to be a very fierce shark, senpai,” he told him.

Rin raised an eyebrow. “Is that a challenge I hear, Ai? In that case, I’ll prove to you tonight just how fierce I can be.”

For the first time, Ai found himself looking forward to the idea of a shark bite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ai being scared of sharks is one of my favorite headcanons.


	5. Arabian AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince Rin wonders how such a small, innocent looking boy could possibly be his guard.

At first, Rin couldn’t understand why the boy had been assigned as a guard. 

He had muscles, sure, but he was small and lean, especially when compared to Seijuurou. It was a miracle he could even pick up his shield and spear, let alone hold them upright for hours at a time. In addition to that, the boy had a babyface and sweet, bright eyes. There was no possible way he could be cut out for the position. But Seijuurou swore by the boy’s skill, so Rin allowed it, all the while keeping an eye on this out of place young soldier. 

It all became clear when a rogue band of mercenaries attempted to storm the palace. Most of the group had been handled at the gates, but it seemed a few had snuck through. Seijuurou left to sweep the palace and find any hideaways, as well as to secure the princess’s safety. He left Aiichirou with the task of protecting the prince, promising that more help would be on its way. 

Rin fingered the dagger he had strapped to his thigh, not completely trusting the boy to get the job done. He kept a watchful eye out, warily scouring the dark corners of the great hall for lurking assassins.

“Don’t worry, my liege. I will protect you,” the boy vowed. Rin had never heard his voice so strong and self-assured. It caught him by surprise.

Before he could say anymore, Aiichirou grunted and lifted up his shield. There was a sharp clang of metal, and Rin could just barely see a blade fall to the ground. He gripped his own dagger, readying himself.

As soon as Aiichirou lowered his shield to look for the attacker, more weapons came flying towards them. The guard moved to block Rin, and all the weapons knocked into the shield before clattering to the ground. Aiichirou instructed Rin to stay low, and then went on the offensive. 

Aiichirou took out the duo that had been assaulting them from the shadows with a few carefully aimed blades. Someone charged, attempting to get past him to assault the prince, but Aiichirou collided with the man, using his heavy shield to knock the man backwards, and then running him through with his spear. 

He was so caught up in taking out these men, that he almost forgot about the last two. Almost.

The assassin charged and just as he expected, Aiichirou charged for him, knocking him with the shield. Aiichirou delivered another hard blow to the man’s skull, effectively knocking him out. While he was distracted though, he heard the sound of footsteps, ones that moved far too quickly and were heading towards the Prince. Without hesitation, Aiichirou dropped the cumbersome shield and ran, throwing himself in front of the prince.

He grunted as the assassin slashed at his arm. Blood dripped to the ground, but he paid it no mind, instead bringing his fist up to slam into the masked man’s nose. He unsheathed a blade while the attacker recoiled and resheathed it in the attacker’s stomach. He yanked it out and slit the man’s throat for good measure. 

There was a thud as the body crumpled to the ground, but silence reigned after that. Aiichirou was silent, trying to detect any other threats over the sound of his own ragged breathing. When he was certain that the coast was clear, he turned to his prince and kneeled respectfully. 

“My apologies, sire. Are you alright?” he asked, looking up at Rin and eyeing the man’s rich fabrics for a hint of blood. He noted, with relief, that there was none. 

“I’m fine, thank you,” Rin replied mechanically in awe of what he had just witnessed. “But I’m afraid you are the one who is injured.” He gestured to the gash on the guard’s arm. 

Aiichirou looked down and pressed a hand over the wound. He smiled. “Don’t worry about me, my liege. It’s just a part of the job. Plus, it isn’t so bad. I’ll get it wrapped up once I know that the threat has been completely eliminated.”

Rin unwrapped a red sash from around his waist. He gestured for Aiichirou to stand and he did so, albeit with a confused expression. The prince silently wrapped the sash tightly around Aiichirou’s wound as a makeshift bandage. The blood stained the fabric an even darker burgundy, but Rin didn’t care. He had plenty of others.

“M-My liege…?” Aiichirou murmured, staring at his newly wrapped forearm in awe. 

“It will do for the time being. I couldn’t let you go around dripping blood all over the palace floors,” Rin remarked airily. He gave a dismissive wave of the hand, signalling that he would answer no further questions on the matter. “You are… an interesting person. Aiichirou, was it? I look forward to seeing what other surprises you have in store for me.”

Aiichirou could only nod dumbly, wondering what could be going on in the mind of his beautiful, enigmatic prince.


	6. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing says team-building activity like going around confessing.

“Alright, team, come on! Everyone find a seat on the bleachers,” Rin announced. He watched as the swimmers filed onto the bleachers and once everyone was accounted for, he cleared his throat and began. “Now, there’s a lot of new faces here today. Congratulations for making it onto the team.”

He paused to allow for the excited new members to cheer for themselves while the more experienced members settled for grinning. Once it was quiet, the captain continued. “Now, we have a tradition here at Samezuka. We have a lot of unfortunate traditions here, and this is just the beginning. I’m sure you all have participated in exercises where you get to know your teammates. This is one of those. I’m not expecting everyone to be the best of friends, but we are a team, and so it’s important that we get along, and at least know a little something about each other.”

As always, that was the part where people began to murmur to one another. Rin knew it was like one of those dumb activities they made you do in middle school, but Mikoshiba swore by it, so he couldn’t exactly change tradition.

“We’re going to go around and each of you is going to confess one thing about yourself. It doesn’t necessarily have to be embarrassing, but if you want to share, then go for it. It just has to be something that most of us here doesn’t know already,” he explained. “Everybody understand?” 

There was a resounding, “Yes, sir!”

Rin grinned. “Good. Now who would like to go first?” 

Momotarou leapt up out of his seat, his hand waving high in the air. Rin sighed and gave him the go ahead.

“My name is Mikoshiba Momotarou. I’m a first year! I like picking up cute girls in my spare time, my hobby is catching stag beetles. My favorite phrase is-”

“I said one confession, Momo!” Rin snapped, cutting him off there. Aiichirou sheepishly yanked on the first year’s sleeve, tugging him back down. Rin sighed. “Ai, your turn.”

The second year nodded and stood. “My name is Nitori Aiichirou, I am second year. My confession is… I have never traveled outside of Japan,” he declared, then sat back down. He was the perfect example of the confession game should go, and Rin was glad that he had called on him.

“Great, great. Nakamura, how about you?”

They went on like that for the better part of an hour, going row by row and learning about each other. For example, Makishima admitted that he enjoyed bike riding in his spare time. Fujimori shared that he had three little sisters. Souda wore a retainer for six years. By the time the last person had gone, Rin was certain that everyone felt a bit closer. He was just about to dismiss them when Minami raised his hand.

“Hey, Captain! What about you? You didn’t confess like the rest of us.”

Rin blinked. “Huh, right. Well… My name is Matsuoka Rin. I’m a third year, and my confession is… that I have a crush on someone in this school.” He smirked at all the shocked looks he received and gave the team a wink as he dismissed them. They slowly dispersed, murmuring amongst themselves and discussing all that they had learned today.

As captain, Rin waited until he was sure everyone was gone before he himself picked up his bag and headed out. As he exited the pool building, he was caught just outside by Aiichirou, who offered to walk with him back to the dorm. 

“I think today went well,” Ai said, smiling at Rin. The redhead nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. I mean, I could have gone my entire life without learning about Itoki’s collection of special magazines, but other than that, everyone seemed to get along just fine.”

Ai laughed nervously. “Right, well… He wasn’t the only one who shared something interesting today, Rin-senpai. You confessed something surprising yourself!”

Rin gave him a sideways glance. “Was it really so surprising? I thought you would have known by now, Ai.”

“Me?” He blinked in surprise. “I don’t remember you telling me anything about you having a crush on anyone, senpai…” he trailed off uneasily. He frowned as he tried to remember if they had ever had such a conversation. 

“Well, of course I didn’t tell you. But I thought it was obvious,” Rin insisted, this time stopping in his tracks to give his companion a very pointed look. A very very pointed look that Ai just didn’t seem to understand. 

“Why would it be obvious?”

Rin resisted the urge to sigh and instead planted his hands firmly on Ai’s shoulders. “It should have been obvious because you’re the one I like, Ai.”

Ai looked up at him, eyes wide and uncomprehending. “Oh.” A few seconds passed. “Ohhhh! W-Wait, senpai do you really mean to say that?”

“Yes, I do, Ai. I like you,” Rin said slowly, watching in amusement as Ai’s face turned pink, red, and every shade in between. Without giving him a chance to start rambling, Rin leaned down and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

What surprised him though was when Ai reached up and tangled his fingers in Rin’s hair, holding him in place and deepening the kiss. Rin gladly obliged, but as soon as they parted for air, the first thing out of his mouth was, “Never knew you could kiss like that, Ai. Anything you want to confess?”

The swimmer giggled and pressed his burning face into Rin’s chest. “Other than I’ve wanted to do that for a long time? No, not really.”

Rin smiled and kissed the top of Ai’s head.


	7. Midnight Swim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We go through Ai's day, from noon to midnight.

Noontime means lunchtime.  
Ai sits outside with his friends  
enjoying the breeze.

It’s one- back to class.  
Slug through the afternoon haze.  
Why is math so hard?

Two o’clock: dismissed!  
Bells ring shrilly in his ear.  
Ai walks to the dorm.

Three so soon? Warm up!  
The team gathers to stretch.  
Ai partners with Rin. 

Four means dive right in,  
we’ll be starting with some laps.  
The water is cool.

Five breathe swim next lap  
keep going you can do it  
The water is warm.

Six, and what’s my time?  
The captain smiles at him, proud.  
Great- hit the showers.

Seven means he’s back  
his messy desk awaits him.  
Time to do homework.

Eight just rolls on by.  
English reminds him of Rin.  
Ai does it alone.

Nine should be peaceful.  
It isn’t with Momo here.  
Ai begs him to sleep.

Ten o’clock, lights out.  
Now, he says, you have to sleep.  
Momo quiets down.

Eleven at night.  
Ai sneaks out to meet with him.  
The pool is empty.

Shh, midnight swims.  
The two whisper and embrace.  
The water is hot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it! That's the end~ I'm sorry to end it on such a sucky note (they aren't even really haikus I mean honestly), but those have been my 7 contributions to rintoriweek. Hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
